The hospital will close for this weekend at 4 pm on Friday, June 19th for a team appreciation event. Please call the Emergency Animal Clinic at (480) 497-0222 should you have an emergency while we are out of the office. Thank you for your understanding.

Posted on June 17th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Announcements, Headlines | No Comments »

Most cats undeniably enjoy spending time outdoors. The opportunity to roll in the dirt, snack on grass, or chase bugs and lizards is actually a very valuable way to help reduce the stress of indoor life for many cats. But in most places, a strictly-outdoor existence is fraught with dangers for pets that routinely leave the confines of their own yard. Here are 10 good reasons why your cats’ outdoor time should be limited to supervised activity in your own back yard: Read more…

Posted on May 29th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Cats, Preserving the Bond, Feature Stories | No Comments »

VIN News reported yesterday that pet food manufacturer Nutro has recalled ten varieties of the company’s dry cat foods,seven of which are sold in the US, after incorrect amounts of zinc and potassium were detected in the foods. As a result of this voluntary recall, Nutro has advised pet owners who have purchased affected products to immediately discontinue its use. Affected product may be returned to the seller for a full refund.

Zinc and potassium are essential nutrients for cats; affected diets have elevated levels of zinc and decreased levels of potassium resulting from a production error by a US-based vitamin/mineral premix supplier. Short term feeding of these diets is not likely to cause health problems and no reports of ill cats have been received by Nutro. Short-term symptoms may include decreased appetite, weight loss, vomiting, and diarrhea. Owners of pregnant cats or cats experiencing health problems while eating the affected foods are advised to contact their veterinarian immediately.

A list of recalled Nutro dry cat foods, including Max Cat and Natural Choice with “best if used by” dates between May 12 and August 22, 2010, can be found on the company’s website. Dog food and canned cat foods are not affected by this recall.

Posted on May 22nd, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Product Safety and Recalls, Cats, Headlines | No Comments »

Communication is a big part of what our team does: in the examination room, on the phone, through email–even with Facebook status updates and Twitter “tweets.” One of the resources I use to improve my communication skills is a weekly email from speaker Meryl Runion. This week’s “Power Phrase” is one that all pet owners can and should remember: think of what questions you want to ask the doctor.

In the context of Meryl’s blog post, this power phrase was used by a mom to empower her young son to take responsibility for his own medical care and well-being by ensuring that communication with his doctor wasn’t a one-way street. While you can’t empower your furry kids to do the same, you CAN claim responsibility for your part of the veterinary-client-patient relationship by empowering yourself. Pet owners should never be reluctant to identify their needs, have opinions, and ask for what they want when it comes to veterinary care. By asking questions and providing accurate information about your pet’s health, you can help ensure the success of your veterinary visit, much like the boy in this story was able to do with his doctor.

Somewhat ironically, the other half of this week’s newsletter–the “Poison Phrase” of the week–was: you didn’t ask for a pain killer, a story about how–even though her surgery called for a pain killer every four hours–a patient wasn’t medicated for postoperative pain because she didn’t ask for it! Made me think about our patients and the fact that they can’t ask for a pain killer. That’s why comprehensive pain management is a required part of all potentially painful procedures at PPH!

Posted on May 21st, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Preserving the Bond, Feature Stories | 1 Comment »

Dolittler: Kitty comforts: How cat-friendly is YOUR veterinary hospital?

Dr. Patty had a great post about what vets can do to make a practice cat-friendly yesterday. I’m proud to say that we meet 9 of her personal top 10 “cat friendly criteria” by providing a waiting room with a small isolated corner that can house nervous cats, having a well-trained and observant team that is sensitive to the needs of cats, offering separate examination facilities and hospital wards for kitties, and minimizing the stressful smells and sounds that are common in veterinary practices.

Dr. Burns and the team had a great opportunity to show our cat-friendliness off yesterday, too, with more than half of the patients that visited being cats. This is pretty unusual, since dogs outnumber cats by about 3 to 1 in the average veterinary practice. We love caring for dogs, but don’t forget your kitties when it comes to veterinary care. Cats, in fact, are quite skilled at hiding very subtle signs of illness, which makes that periodic examination that much more important!

Posted on May 15th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Cats, Feature Stories | No Comments »

Nail trims are one of the most common non-medical tasks that the veterinary healthcare team is asked to perform. Sometimes, the request is made because a pet owner is afraid to hurt their pet. More commonly, however, it’s a result of the fact that the pet has developed a fearful response to gentle restraint, handling of its feet, or some other aspect of the grooming process and resists at all costs. I’ve worked in many veterinary practices over the years where clipping the nails of fearful pets is accomplished using muzzles and as many staff members as it takes to get the job done. While the pet may leave with short nails, he also goes home with an escalating sense of fear that can potentially be generalized to other places and situations and may eventually place family members at risk.At Priority Pet Hospital, we feel that behavioral health is a critical part of overall wellness for pets. Our entire team believes that muzzles, manhandling, and pig-piles on top of fearful pets are rarely appropriate and never useful in reducing fearful behavior. Drs. Dan Estep and Suzanne Hetts, applied animal behaviorists, recently released a great audio postcard about conditioning your dog–young or old–to gentle handling of the feet and nail trimming (click HERE to listen). They also make the very good point that fearful dogs should never be wrestled into complaince, because it will only make the behavior worse. Gentle–and in some cases reversible–sedation is very safe, and by far the best way to minimize fear and risk of injury to fearful dogs for routine procedures. Don’t be afraid to tell your veterinarian that you would like to have your fearful pet sedated for nail trimming. Your pet–and your veterinary healthcare team–will thank you for it!

Posted on May 4th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Nurturing the Bond, Feature Stories | No Comments »

The Veterinary Information Network, or VIN, as it is known to members, is an online veterinary community that both Dr. Burns and I have been members of for some time. It’s a tremendous resource, a place where veterinarians working in many different capacities (small practices like ours, universities, specialty hospitals, industry, research, etc.) can discuss a variety of topics. We both use it with great frequency to find the latest and most  up-to-date information on many topics and solicit help with odd or frustrating cases.A recent post on the VIN News website, a public site where VIN news reports are shared outside our community, really gives a great illustration of the usefulness of this resource. Click HERE to read a heartwarming story about a stranded seal pup, a Russian veterinarian with a big heart (and no experience with seals), and an international veterinary community coming together. While we’re not likely to encounter a seal pup here in the Valley, I think this story demonstrates the true power of VIN, and I’m happy that we have this kind of support available to help our patients as well!

Posted on April 27th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

This Sunday will mark the second annual National Pet Parents Day, a spring holiday that “recognizes and honors those who lovingly consider their pets part of their close-knit family,” according to sponsors. While you won’t find a row of greeting cards at your local Target for this day yet, you can use Pet Parents Day’s website to send e-cards to your favorite pet parents.Dr. Burns and I have a longstanding habit of exchanging mothers’ and fathers’ day cards–despite the fact that we don’t have any “pink kids” ourselves–so this is really nothing new to us. And while we’re a bit disappointed to see yet another commercialized “holiday,” we do believe in the spirit of a day like this. But at Priority Pet Hospital, every day is Pet Parents Day. From the family portraits in our lobby, to the liberal doses of affection we heap on our patients, everyone on our team is a pet parent and we enjoy celebrating that fact with our clients and their “kids” as well.Now, if we could only teach our children to make us a nice breakfast in bed on Sunday…

Posted on April 24th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Celebrating the Bond, Events, Feature Stories | 1 Comment »

April 22nd marks the 39th anniversary of Earth Day, but Priority Pet Hospital makes a conscious effort to “go green” on a daily basis. While the principles of asepsis require us to use many items just once, we take a variety of steps to ensure that our impact on the environment is balanced with our patients’ needs, and we try to offset the wastefulness that’s inherent in providing medical services as much as we can. Read more…

Posted on April 22nd, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Headlines | No Comments »

Pet Phone, a new application for the iPhone, lets you take your pets’ health information mobile. The $5 application records appointments, medications, allergies, and weight for multiple pets. It also has a “Find a Vet” option that will locate veterinary practices near your location on Google Maps–a great feature if you’re traveling, but we hope Priority Pet Hospital is the only place you’ll need around town!Design company Phantom Particle recently introduced Pet Phone, a mobile pet care and first-aid reference with information on dogs, cats, and several exotic species, as well. Pet Phone also boasts a GPS-enabled “vet locator” for emergencies on the go. Priced at only $1.99, a portion of the proceeds is donated to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Many other application designers donate a portion of their proceeds to humane and rescue organizations, too. For instance, when users download the video game “Shivering Kittens” during the month of April, application creator GiantCrayon Games will donate one dollar to the ASPCA.A variety of other pet-related applications are available at the iTunes app store. In addition to video games, other programs like iPet Cats and iFluff Pets, allow pet lovers to adopt and care for virtual pets on their iPhones. How have pets found their way onto your iPhone?

Posted on April 16th, 2009 by Dr. G
Filed under: Celebrating the Bond, Feature Stories | No Comments »